It’s a playful read this month as Sara Whatley looks at crafting for wellness and changing your workout into a playout
November is the perfect time of year to pull out the crafting box and cosy up for some making. What you might not know is that crafting is really good for our mental health too, so you can create something beautiful and feel great as well.
Also helping you feel great is a playful workout – a ‘playout’ if you like – where you get all the benefits of a physical workout, but with the bonus of having way more fun while you do it. Sounds too good to be true? Read on to find out how.
WELLNESS: CRAFTING
Full disclosure, I am an avid crafter. Over the years I have turned my hand to various different crafts, from pottery to basket weaving, crochet to metal work. Each has given me a new skill, and I have produced some pieces I’m really proud of. Overall, it’s a win-win activity for me.
Thankfully there are lots of studies and surveys that back up my crafting penchant and confirm that it’s not only a fun activity, but crafting is good for our wellbeing too. Joining a crafting group, or indeed creating your own is great way of staying social, meeting new people and thwarting loneliness. This might be in person at a local venue (brilliant for connecting with your neighbours and local community), or online with people from all over the world.
It’s also a great way to keep the old grey matter active and engaged – so important when it comes to later life and helping to prevent against Alzheimer’s and dementia. You might be learning a totally new skill, or progressing with something you have tried before. Either way, getting a little outside of your comfort zone is a positive experience and will reward you greatly.
Talking of rewards, the hormone and neurotransmitter dopamine is associated with the arts. This happy hormone releases feelings of pleasure, motivation and satisfaction, so when we craft we make ourselves physiologically happier. Helping to improve your mood and lower stress can also help with anxiety and depression. The repetitive movements, anticipation of satisfaction, and concentration all provide a healthy distraction, and can lead to a state of mindfulness – being deeply focused in the present moment and paying attention to our actions.
Visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk for more ideas
MOVEMENT: PLAYING
Do you remember when you were a child and all you did was play? I do because I watch my children playing from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep. A child’s body is never still – even when it’s supposed to be sitting at the dinner table. They are constantly dancing, jiggling, jumping off the furniture, contorting themselves into strange positions, running, playing tag... the list is endless.
When you are an adult and you give yourself the job of exercising because you know it’s good for you it becomes a chore, and one you probably won’t stick to if you don’t enjoy it. Children, on the other hand, exercise all the time because it is play, and they are having so much fun.
So, as an adult, how can you change your workout to a playout? Basically, find something that is fun for you, and do more of that! It might be lifting weights, it might be exercising with friends where you get a good work out done but you also catch up and laugh yourself silly. It might be a gorgeous country bike ride, or how about a cold swim that takes your breath away and makes you scream with pleasure and pain?
Children like to test and challenge each other in their play; adults can emulate that by racing, setting score challenges, and working as a team. Kids also find great enjoyment in fear – the chase! Why not incorporate a touch rugby game into your playout? Or a game of paintballing? It’s a change of mindset as much as anything else. Finding joy in the movement you do will lead to a playful workout you can’t wait to do again.
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